


A treasure unlike any other.

by Karliah



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Deaf!Human!Spain, Eventual Romance, M/M, Merman!Lovino, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22894006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karliah/pseuds/Karliah
Summary: Requested by Rubyheart777.Siren!Lovino x Deaf!Human!AntonioHe was out hunting, when he found two ships firing at each other in the middle of the sea.Lovino, hungry for treasure as always and hidden by the depths of the sea, already rubbed his hands with glee.The treasure he received was unlike any other and in the end, better than anything he could have imagined.... even if he wanted to drown him at first.
Relationships: South Italy/Spain (Hetalia)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	A treasure unlike any other.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rubyheart777](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubyheart777/gifts).



> Prompt:
> 
> Siren!Lovino x Deaf!Human!Antonio  
> Lovino tries to drown Antonio but finds he's unable to, confused he tries to get closer to him but this starts a weird friendship of trading shells and other small objects all while they still can't understand each other.  
> Can be friendship or relationship I don't mind either one.  
> (I hope that was understandable sorry I'm not the best writer)

It was supposed to be a simple raid, he reminded himself. He and his supposed to be friends had been tracking the merchant's ship for a week now, waiting until it was far enough from any navy patrols. Catching up to it, as heavy as it was with all the wares, was the easiest part. As it turned out, sharing proved to be more difficult - in other words, dividing by two was better than sharing the treasure with three. He had thought he could trust them, having sailed with Francis and Gilbert for as long as he had, especially when nobody else wanted to have a deaf captain. Sharing his role as a leader with the other two made it possible to finally live his dream.

 _Well, I was wrong_ , he thought grimly, heaving himself up on some wood floating in the water, wood that once was part of the trading ship. The great Captain Antonio Férnandez Carriedo, now stripped of his crew, the ship he shared with his friends and most of the treasure he had owned. Just wonderful. And if that wasn't enough, he was stranded in the middle of nowhere, away from any frequently used trade or patrol routes. It could take weeks before another ship showed up.

With that thought in mind and out of options, he snatched more wood from the water and began paddling in what he hoped to be the right direction to the nearest island. He wasn't sure if he was glad that the sun wasn't shining right now - well, at least he wouldn't get burned, but that didn't mean that he welcomed the deafening rain that pelted down on him.

Squinting against the water trying to get into his eyes, he watched the two traitors sailing away, probably off to spend some of their newly acquired goods to get absolutely shitfaced in the next tavern.

Taking a deep breath, he stopped his efforts and laid the makeshift paddle next to him. The wind had been picking up for the last hour and the rain had only gotten worse and he knew there was a storm coming. With a bit of luck, he would somehow manage to stay on his little raft and perhaps even get pushed in the right direction. Wasting his energy now in an attempt to get somewhere only to have his efforts possibly thwarted would make it more difficult to try and hold on to the piece of wood he sat on.

As anticipated, he didn't have to wait long for the storm to arrive and tried his best to not get thrown off the only thing keeping him above water. In the end, it was futile. After two hours of being thrown around by waves five times his size, being dunked under water and flipped around again and again, his strength finally gave way to exhaustion. The adrenaline could only keep him going for so long. Desperately, Antonio turned his head, his eyes red and teary from the salt water, trying to find a way out - an island, a ship, anything - but the rain obscured his view and he could only spot the odd driftwood here and there before the wave he was riding on crashed, sending him yet again tumbling down into the water.

Once again, he was blinded by the salty water, not knowing which way was up. Blindly thrusting his hands out, he could feel his fingertips grazing the wood before it was ripped out of his grasp and the panic set in. No matter how many times he'd been thrown off his life raft so far, he'd always found his back on top of the soaked wood. He thrashed in the water, blinking against the sting in his eyes, turning and turning to find the way up, but as another wave rolled over him and turned his body with it, he lost all sense of orientation.

That's when he saw something move in the water from the corner of his eye. Before he could get a proper look at it though, it was gone.

Another wave crashed into him, violently pressing into his body, and he couldn't help but let out a choked gasp, swallowing water. In a last-ditch effort, he used all his energy to push himself to the surface.

Something wrapped itself around his ankle, dragging him down again. Thunder set in, lighting up the murky water around him as he watched his vision grow darker and darker; brown eyes were the last thing he saw.

•♦•

He loved storms, how could he not? They were dark, chaotic and best of all, they brought him new toys to play with, whether it be some shiny treasure or the occasional helpless human. As soon as he had felt the telltale shiver down his tail that warned him of an incoming storm, he stopped hunting for fish and swam towards the surface, staying low enough to remain hidden from prying eyes.

It seemed lady luck was on his side today.

He had never understood just why these dumb humans always tried to destroy each other's only hope of surviving on the ocean, but whenever he heard those impossibly loud noises, treasure soon followed, slowly sinking through the water. So not only was there a storm on its way, there was also two ships being torn apart above him. Muffled screams could be heard and not long after, the first bodies hit the water, helplessly floating between the splinters of wood. Some were hit by the flying debris, but he couldn't care less about some humans dying. He was only here for the nice stuff. His cave could use a little bit more gold, he mused, still waiting. More debris was sinking through the waters that he dodged easily. There was a loud crash and a big piece of wood landed in the water, followed by a large fabric of sorts that stayed afloat on the surface.

As the first ship started sinking, he carefully approached it and swam through one of the big holes in its side, searching through the decks. When he couldn't find anything of interest, he swam towards the separated cabin on the end of the ship where he knew their leader must have lived in.

But everything was empty.

He frowned, his hazel eyes staring up towards the surviving ship that was now sailing away. The noise had also stopped, so it was unlikely that there would be more ships for him to loot today. Sometimes the ships were empty, sometimes they were not.

_Hm, strano..._

He continued to wait patiently. And his patience was rewarded. Not too long after, he spotted something reflecting the light in the water, slowly sinking towards the ground. With a strong thrust of his tail, he moved closer. The thing was long in shape, with a sharp tip and golden handle and he remembered seeing humans use those to strike their enemies. Curious, he reached towards it, but just before he could touch the silver metal, it was pulled away before being shoved in his direction. Quickly, he swam to the side, just in time to dodge another strike. A human had his treasure in its grasp, trying to scare him off. He tried to swing the thing towards his side, but the water made his movements slow and sluggish. Quickly realizing this, the man resumed trying to stab him by thrusting it straight forward. For Lovino, it was still a pathetic sight, although the human could move it much faster this way. Like child's play, he swam behind him and before the man could react, grabbed his arms before dragging him down. He didn't want to give him his treasure? Fine, he could deal with this nuisance.

When the human stopped trashing against him and the last bubble made its way from his mouth towards the surface, Lovino released him and grabbed his reward. The ship may have been empty, but at least he had gotten something out of it. Holding the metal in front of him, he could see parts of his own reflection. Hazel eyes, brown hair, and the gills on the side of his throat just below his jaw.

Perhaps he should stay around just to check if there was something else worth looting from the debris floating around. The waves had already begun to increase in size and a light drizzle disrupted the water's surface. _I should hurry._

An hour or two later, the waves had actually gotten big enough to pose as a threat even for him. He had already turned to dive deeper into the safe and calmer deeper waters, when he saw a human not too far away land in the water. Was there another boat struggling in the storm? Perhaps he would get his gold today after all. While he swam, he watched the human struggle to reach the surface, being thrown around by the waves, his legs useless in the water. Another wave hit him and he was pushed down yet again, bubbles leaving his mouth. He was as good as gone. Lovino was about to leave, disappointed once he realized there was in fact no other ship, just the human and a piece of wood drifting around, when he saw that the human had an object identical to the one he was holding strapped to his hip, although his had a nicely decorated package it was sheathed in.

So he grabbed the man's leg, prepared to drown him like he did all the other humans before him, when green eyes met his. Eyes in the same shade as his tail. They were _beautiful_.

Ever since Lovino had started to collect little trinkets here and there, he had a corner where he put things that had his colors. And he needed to add this treasure to his collection. But how? He knew, if he just took his eyes, they would soon rot and the beauty of them would die with the human. So he had to keep him alive. What a bother.

Until now, he had never gone out of his way to save a human, but he knew by instinct that a merman's kiss would allow him to breathe under water, if just for a little while. The man's eyes had already started to close, so he had little time left. Clumsily, he placed his cold lips onto the other's warm ones, feeling the magic passing through him and watched his chest rise and fall again with ease.

With the shiny metal stick in one hand and dragging the human with the other, he made his way towards his cave.

•♦•

Antonio woke with a start, frantically looking around, the memories of what had happened blurring together in his mind. The ground he was laying on was cold, but soft and his surroundings were brightly lit, almost blinding him, the light shining through two holes in the ceiling, barely bigger than his head. This was a cave, he realized. And he was surrounded by various objects and treasures, most of them shining ever so slightly in the dim light. _What the hell happene-_

The merchant. His friends. The raid. The betrayal. The storm. **Something underwater.**

Immediately, he was wide awake and alert, his hand wandering to his belt only to realize his sword was gone. Turning his head in vain to find an exit, he noticed with mild panic there was none. Unless...  
He sat up, carefully stepping towards the edge of a pool of water in the middle of the cave, staring into the dark, bottomless hole. Whatever had grabbed him during the storm, it must have brought him here, there was no other explanation. He didn't know why or what creature it could have been, but he didn't want to stay to find out. Even if he was mostly unharmed and still alive, that didn't mean that the creature wasn't saving him for later.

Glancing over his shoulder one last time, tempted to take some of the treasure with him, he shook his head and began unlacing his boots. His clothes here heavy enough as it was, and he didn't know how deep he had to dive in order to get out of this cave. Drowning to escape a mysterious creature just after he survived a storm didn't sound very appealing to him.

Antonio slowed his breathing, forcefully trying to calm down and lower his heart rate and sat down on the edge of the pool, dipping his legs in the water. After a minute of taking deep breaths, he filled his lungs one last time and pushed himself into the water. Back was the familiar feeling of saltwater stinging in his eyes, but he had to suffer through it if he wanted to get out of here. Grabbing the rock leading down into the unknown, he pulled himself along the walls of the underwater cave to save time and energy. It was getting so dark he could barely see a thing. Even then, he could have sworn that he saw some kind of movement ahead and stopped.

It moved again. Antonio quickly turned back around, scrambling to get back to the surface, out of the beast's territory to somewhere he could fend it off, back onto land - or well, back into the cave. He was halfway there when he felt the familiar tugging on his leg, pulling him down again and he risked a glance. Brown eyes met his and he froze. They studied in his reaction and when he didn't move, the creature got closer, leaving the shadows of the deep waters behind it. Still in shock, he took in the tanned skin of the other being and - to his surprise - the mostly human looking body of it... him. Although he had gills on his neck and webbed fingers, the thing that took him off-guard the most was the deep green fish tail where his legs should have been.

A merman. He was abducted by a goddamn _merman_. Fear spread through his body. The merfolk was known to have drowned many seamen; they were merciless killers. It was just his luck to have one swimming right before him. One that was curiously raising his hand and touched Antonio's face. Startled, he released most of what little air he had left and jerked his head back. The merman narrowed his eyes at that and approached again, getting too close to comfort. In fact, he could feel his tail touching his legs every now and then. Before the former pirate captain could be cornered, he thrust his legs out in an attempt to get back up. If the merman wanted to study his face, _fine_ , but he had to breathe, _now_.

Strong arms wrapped themselves around his middle and for a second he thought 'this is it, he's going to drown me now', until he realized that the merman was actually dragging him up faster than he could have been. When he broke the surface, he sputtered and coughed, taking in the air greedily before he remembered the presence behind his back. He turned around slowly, ready to defend himself, but the creature didn't seem to want to attack him. Instead, he only swam closer, reaching out again. This time, he allowed the contact, even going so far as to suppress the shiver when the other's cold skin met his cheek. Although he felt really uncomfortable with how close they were and how intimately he looked into his eyes, he couldn't help but feel intrigued.

The merman must have been satisfied by what he'd seen as he nodded his head and swam to the other side of the pool, where he heaved himself up onto the ground in one swift and strong motion. As he crawled towards some of his treasure, Antonio studied his tail, amazed at how beautiful it looked. When he seemed to have found whatever he was looking for, he returned into the water and held it out for him to see. Gingerly, the pirate took the item, their hands touching for a split second. It turned out to be an amulet of sorts with a silver chain and a gorgeous green gem in the hanging from it. Perplexed, he let the necklace go when the merman impatiently took it away from him again, only to open the clasp and put it around Antonio's neck, before nodding again and looking at him expectantly, his mouth moving. Antonio just pointed to his ears and shook his head.

Frowning and nudging him with his tail once, the merman turned around and disappeared underwater, leaving Antonio to wonder what the hell just happened.

•♦•

The following days continued like this. Lovino would bring his human gifts without getting even a single thanks in return and then he would disappear into the water again, going fishing for himself or looking for something floating in the water for the human after he discovered that he didn't seem to like raw fish. He had asked him what he would like to eat, but he didn't respond; instead he just pointed to his ears and shook his head again. _Stupido_.

When Lovino had first brought him a coconut, the green-eyed man had grabbed his metal stick that he had looted a few days prior and promptly dropped it when the merman hissed and swiped his hands with their sharp claws at him. Helplessly, he had pointed from the stick to the coconut, before he picked it up again and sliced the out shell of the fruit with it. Then he picked up and smashed the inner shell, greedily drinking up the juice spilling from it. He had scoffed at that but let him continue using the metal stick.

Every once in a while, he would try to talk to him, but never get an answer. One day, he screeched as loud as he could when the human had his back turned, but he didn't react. That's when his suspicion was confirmed: The human didn't necessarily speak another language; he just couldn't hear him at all. That complicated things a bit.

From then on, he brought him things that were exclusively in their color - jewelry with emeralds, deep green sea glass and sometimes even green shells from the bottom of the ocean. The human had seemed amazed when he brought him those, his eyes shining in wonder like he'd never seen those before. Perhaps he hadn't, they were pretty rare and hard to get by.

On the evening of the fifth day, he seemed to realize why Lovino had brought him here. _Took that bastardo long enough_ , Lovino thought grumpily. One look at the man sitting opposite him, pointing from his eyes to all the beautifully colored treasure to his tail with an understanding smile made him forget about his grudge, though. With a roll of his eyes, the merman flicked his tail at him in fake annoyance, before pushing himself back into the water so that his tail wouldn't dry out. Beneath the water surface, he couldn't help but grin to himself, the picture of his human smiling at him still fresh in his mind.

He was about to dive down into the labyrinth of a cave system again to hunt some fish when a loud hum stopped him. Turning around, he peered out of the water, the lower part of his face still covered, his wet hair clinging to his face. The human waved his hand, begging him to come closer and Lovino obliged, heaving his upper half back onto to sandy ground. The long and slender finger of the man then smoothed out the sand between them, before he lifted a single finger to write in the sand.

_A N T O N I O... Antonio, that's his name, huh?_

He tested the name out, saying it out loud, even though his counterpart couldn't hear him. Then he raised his own hand to write in the sand, the grainy substance clinging to his wet finger.

_L O V I N O._

The smile his human gave him was blinding and made his face flush.

•♦•

After another two days Lovino realized that he had to set the human - Antonio - free. He wouldn't be able to sustain him forever. Not to mention, he seemed to grow restless, desperate to move and walk around again.

_If I was confined to a small pond, I would probably feel the same._

As he navigated through the tunnels to his little save haven, he had made his decision. He needed to set him free, today. Now.

As soon as he reached the cave and peeked out of the water, he was greeted by a soft smile and a small wave. Reluctantly, he waved back. With one strong push of his tail, he swam to the edge with ease and heaved himself out of the water with his strong arms. As they had done it the previous days, he smoothed out the sand to write what he was about to do.

Antonio stared at the words and his lips slightly parted in surprise as he looked up, searching the merman's face for any signs of deception. When he found none, he erased the written words with a movement of his hand before he began to write:

_How? I cannot breathe underwater, amigo._

He knew this was coming, but couldn't help his cheeks from getting warm, a blush quickly spreading across his whole face and down his neck. When Lovino had given him his first - and so far, only - merman's kiss, he hadn't felt the way he did now. Back then, humans were a nuisance to him, just a way to give him access to his treasures. But now? Now that he had spent some time with one, one that wore _his_ color, one that had such a radiant smile... Not to mention, he would not be unconscious like he was last time. It would feel so much more intimate.

_Have you ever heard of a merman's kiss?_

The look in Antonio's eyes went from curious to surprised to flustered pretty quickly when he caught up to what his counterpart was saying - well, writing. Avoiding eye contact, he meekly shook his head.

 _It makes you breathe underwater,_ Lovino explained, although he was pretty sure that the human had already gathered as much. With a frown, he averted his gaze, inspecting his own tail instead. He was not used to being like this - shy and insecure - and it made him feel strange. If he wanted to get Antonio out of here, there was no other way. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage and turned back to the former pirate captain, cradling his cheek his webbed hand, taking in how warm his skin felt. With little to no resistance, he pulled the man's face closer, staring into the beautiful green eyes for a moment, silently asking for his permission, before his eyes flitted down to Antonio's lips again. They looked a little chapped but full and he swallowed, finally closing the rest of the distance, letting the magic do its work.

And magic it was indeed.

A tingling sensation spread through their bodies, from their heads into the tips of their fingers down to their feet. It was better than any treasure either of them had found.

 _Perhaps_ , Lovino thought, _this is the treasure I have been looking for all this time._

The thought alone made him gasp and Antonio used this opportunity to deepen their kiss, not giving the merman the chance to feel embarrassed for the way he felt. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if his human stayed in the cave for _a little_ longer.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm terribly sorry for taking longer than anticipated, but I hope you liked it anyway!  
> Feedback is always appreciated, please let me know if you see any typos or mistakes. :)
> 
> •♦•
> 
> Buy me a coffee or give me a little tip if you loved this story and want to support me!  
> https://ko-fi.com/karli


End file.
